REVIEW: ‘Trigun Stampede,’ Episode 9 – “Millions Knives”

While last week’s episode brought more to light about Vash’s early years and his motivations, Trigun Stampede Episode 9 looks at his brother Nai, or as he comes to call himself, Millions Knives, and why he seems bent on destroying humanity.

Ever since he first showed up in the present-day story in episode three, Knives has been the big bad haunting Vash’s journey. Up to this point, he has been presented as some kind of maniac that is simply determined to destroy everyone. As the cause of both the colony fleet’s failure and the loss of numerous plants humanity needs to survive on Noman’s Land, his purpose has been fairly straightforward. However, Trigun Stampede Episode 9 brings new layers to the character’s motivations and shines new light on the nature of humanity’s interactions with plants.

As the showed revealed a couple of episodes ago, the plants that power the human settlements are charged by living beings. This episode explores the nature of the creatures, and their existence and presents arguments for whether or not humanity is dispassionately cruel to the creatures, or coexists in a form of symbiosis with them. You can probably guess where Knives falls in the discussion.

Without diving too deeply into the weeds, I will say that Trigun Stampede Episode 9 does a great job of presenting a situation that feels like both sides have merit to their feelings. When you see what Knives witnessed in the past, you can understand why he would have misgivings about humanity. The treatment of plants seems cruel, even if there is an explanation for it.

Even though his motives may bear some understandable elements his methods still do not. In this episode’s brief moments of action, Knives is not just seen killing the humans who would stand in his way, but taking clear joy in it. Studio Orange captures the brutality of how Knives carves up those who don’t even pose a threat to him. It mildly disturbing to watch. Much as when he cheered watching the fleet crash, Knives isn’t just someone trying to preserve his own. He actively wants to hurt humanity. This clash of motives and means puts the character into the same villain space for me as iconic characters like Magneto in his original role as an antagonist. I understand why Knives wants to protect his own and doesn’t trust humans, but how he goes about his agenda makes the character fall short of his noble intentions.

While most of Trigun Stampede Episode 9 focuses on the past, the last stretch of this episode does catch back up with Vash and the gang shortly after they stopped the steamship from destroying the town and orphanage where Wolfwood grew up. This sequence is a fascinating one as it introduces several new elements, as well as expands on who the mysterious masked character who hired Wolfwood is.

Trigun Stampede Episode 9 delivers a lot of background and world-building in a way that is both engaging and entertaining. Everything I learn makes me even more eager to find out more.

Trigun Stampede Episode 9 is streaming on Crunchyroll.